The Emperor's Mirror: Understanding Cultures through Primary Sources - Softcover

Barber, Russell; Berdan, Frances

  • 3.75 out of 5 stars
    8 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780816518487: The Emperor's Mirror: Understanding Cultures through Primary Sources
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0816518483 ISBN 13: 9780816518487
Publisher: University of Arizona Press, 1998

Synopsis

Russell J. Barber and Frances F. Berdan have created the ultimate guide for anyone doing cross-cultural and/or document-driven research. Presenting the essentials of primary-source methodology, The Emperor's Mirror includes nine chapters on paleography, calendrics, source and quantitative analysis, and the visual interpretation of artifacts such as pictographs, illustrations, and maps.

As an introduction to ethnohistory, this book clearly defines terminology and provides practical and accessible examples, effectively integrating the concerns of historians and anthropologists as well as addressing the needs of anyone using primary sources for research in any academic field. A leading theme throughout the book is the importance of a researcher's awareness of the inherent biases of documents while doing research on another culture. Documents are the result of people interpreting reality through the filter of their own experience, personality, and culture.

Barber and Berdan's reality mediation model shows students how to analyze documents to detect the implicit biases or subtexts inherent in primary-source materials. Students and scholars working with primary sources will particularly appreciate the case studies that Barber and Berdan use to illustrate the practical implications of using each methodology. These case studies not only apply method to actual research but also are fascinating in their own right: they range from a discussion of the debate over Tupinamba cannibalism to the illustration of Nahuatl, Spanish, and hybrid place names of Tlaxcala, Mexico.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Russell J. Barber is the chair of the Department of Anthropology at California State University in San Bernardino. Frances F. Berdan is a professor of anthropology at California State University in San Bernardino.

From the Back Cover

Russell J. Barber and Frances F. Berdan have created the ultimate guide for anyone doing cross-cultural and/or document-driven research. Presenting the essentials of primary-source methodology, "The Emperor's Mirror" includes nine chapters on paleography, calendrics, source and quantitative analysis, and the visual interpretation of artifacts such as pictographs, illustrations, and maps. As an introduction to ethnohistory, this book clearly defines terminology and provides practical and accessible examples, effectively integrating the concerns of historians and anthropologists as well as addressing the needs of anyone using primary sources for research in any academic field. A leading theme throughout the book is the importance of a researcher's awareness of the inherent biases of documents while doing research on another culture. Documents are the result of people interpreting reality through the filter of their own experience, personality, and culture. Barber and Berdan's reality mediation model shows students how to analyze documents to detect the implicit biases or subtexts inherent in primary-source materials. Students and scholars working with primary sources will particularly appreciate the case studies that Barber and Berdan use to illustrate the practical implications of using each methodology. These case studies not only apply method to actual research but also are fascinating in their own right: they range from a discussion of the debate over Tupinamba cannibalism to the illustration of Nahuatl, Spanish, and hybrid place names of Tlaxcala, Mexico.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
University of Arizona Press
Publication date
1998
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0816518483
ISBN 13 
9780816518487
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
350
Rating
  • 3.75 out of 5 stars
    8 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780816518470: The Emperor's Mirror: Understanding Cultures through Primary Sources

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0816518475 ISBN 13:  9780816518470
Publisher: University of Arizona Press, 1998
Hardcover